Herd's road woes continue with 91-75 loss at Tulane

ByStaff reports

NEW ORLEANS -Marshall did nothing to correct its season-long road difficulties Wednesday night, falling behind by 24 points at halftime en route to a 91-75 loss at Tulane.

The Thundering Herd (10-13 overall, 3-5 Conference USA) fell to 0-8 in "true" road games and 0-11 in games away from Huntington. The Green Wave (15-8, 3-5) emphatically snapped a four-game losing streak in the series before an announced 2,158 at Devlin Fieldhouse.

The game was all but over at halftime with Tulane ahead 59-35. The Herd's problems were manifold - it allowed the Green Wave to hit eight 3-pointers, get 12 offensive rebounds, enjoy a 9-2 turnover advantage and go 17 of 26 from the foul line.

Yes, 26 free throws at the half. The Herd committed a whopping 17 fouls, many at the center position - so many that JP Kambola finished the half at the "five."

When the Herd wasn't putting the Green Wave on the line, it was leaving wide-open shots from the 3-point arc.

That started with Tarrant and Callahan hitting back-to-back shots that wiped out Marshall's last lead of 8-7. Jay Hook, averaging 1.4 points entering the game, hit two off the bench to add to the four bombs by Callahan. The Green Wave split its 16 3-point tries in the half.

"Thoroughly disappointed with our deplorable defense in the first 20 minutes," said MU coach Tom Herrion. "No resistance, no fight, it was totally discouraging. I know it's a broken record - we won't defend and rebound consistently, and it showed from one half to the next."

The Green Wave was careful with the ball, committing two first-half turnovers and nine for the game. The Herd committed nine in the first half and 16 for the game, having trouble with an often-slippery ball in a humid arena.

Marshall was beaten on the boards for the sixth time in seven games, 42-38. More telling, Tulane's 19 offensive rebounds were close to MU's 23 defensive rebounds.

In the second half, the Herd got the margin down to 14 at 72-58 on a Dennis Tinnon jumper with 7:36 left. After the teams exchanged baskets, Tulane's Kajon Mack stopped the rally with a 3-pointer and a fast-break dunk.